Ducts are extensively utilized in heating and ventilating systems to distribute heated or cooled air throughout a building structure. These ducts are commonly formed from differing gauges of sheet metal, or the like, in sections of predetermined lengths which are then connected to one another to form a continuous duct system for distributing air.
It is oftentimes necessary to integrate insulation material with ductwork in order to provide the required thermal characteristics for a given application. Typically, the insulation that is utilized is comprised of a fiberglass material and is commonly packaged as a continuous roll of insulation. Known cutting devices are then employed to unroll a predetermined amount of insulation and effect a severing action in accordance with the specific type, size and shape of ductwork that is intended to be insulated.
For a variety of reasons, the HVAC industry has often used rubber or neoprene flexible foam insulation in place of or in addition to fiberglass insulation. Unlike fiberglass insulation, foam insulation has significant elasticity and mechanical structure. Because of its elastic structure, the foam insulation has greater mechanical toughness than fiberglass and more strongly resists being cut off by conventional chop or guillotine type shear. Thus, shears presently used for cutting fiberglass insulation and sheet metal can be utilized for cutting foam insulation only by adding structure and power to the shears. However, upgrades to make existing shears sturdier may not be compatible with the machinery in which the shears are housed. Also, stronger shears cost more to build and install, and more powerful shears cost more to operate. It will be readily appreciated that the operational difficulties in obtaining clean, repetitive cuts of the new insulating materials results in reduced productivity and increased labor costs.
With the forgoing problems and concerns in mind, it is the general object of the present invention to provide an insulation cutoff device, which overcomes the above-described drawbacks.